Why it works: Salmon and cucumber work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 513 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Boiled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Boil the salmon in salted water until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
Prepare shrimp sauce by mixing cooked shrimp with mayonnaise and lemon juice.
Serve the salmon with shrimp sauce and sliced cucumber on the side.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Salmon + cucumbertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together513 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Salmon + shrimptop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together819 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Shrimp + saucetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,423 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Shrimp + cucumbertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together386 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Salmon + saucetop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,765 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Provides the main protein, which firms and turns opaque as it cooks through.
- Shrimp sauce
- Adds creamy richness and a bright, acidic note against the mild fish.
The step that matters
Boil the salmon until cooked through. Salmon is easy to overcook, and overcooked fish turns dry and chalky. Checking that it is just opaque and flakes easily helps keep it moist.
Swap the cucumber
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, shrimp, sauce):
- Chivefits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Horseradishfits about as well
- Cucumberthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, shrimp, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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